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Any salters left back there/

2K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  juro 
#1 ·
Hi,
All of the reports make me home sick. Grew up in Weymouth and was lucky enough to be taught to fly fish for stripers when I was 12 and that was a long time ago. I still remember that shakeseare solid glass rod and phlugger reel for Alantic Salmon my uncle would let me use. Now live in the NW and Stealhead fish often. Fish a lot with Sinktip over in the Steelhead page. Was back last summer and got out on two trips for strippers and had a ball so many fish, so clean the harbor, wow just great. Just been wondering if there are any salters left back there? I know a lot of marsh no longer exists I used to get them on the back river behind the old Weymouth dump where the river really narrows and where the Indian Head River enters the North River. Watchout if you ever try it you can sink in the mud and never be seen again. looking forward to seeing all your fall stripper reports.
Latter
Steve Wrye.
 
#2 ·
Steve -

There are still salters in Scorton, part of the anadromous program for the state. Cape streams still get a few, I've caught brookies in Paine's that were salters. Barnstable creek is said to hold some, and there are runs in Maine that have been doing well (also planted). North shore up to NH gets a lot of salters (comparably speaking).

The notion of native searun brookies is the epitome of the health of the fishery in MA at least in my mind. I'm not sure how they've been doing on the south shore... anyone?
 
#4 ·
Yes, I agree.

Private emails and inside track communications are the least we can do for this abused remnant population of brookies.

As far as the introduced <b>browns</b>, I think we can open it up since they are put and take exotics and funded by our sport dollars. The lack of interest has been the programs biggest enemy over the years. Their tight jaws have made the Maine crowd treat these big browns with a love hate view.

Thoughts?
 
#5 ·
Sorry Guys,
Your right, If there are any true salters left they should be left alone. We are having a bit of a problem with Searun Cutthroat out here in the NW. They have been put off limits to catch & kill in most spots. This has only created a new interest in the fish and the catch and kill guys are coming out of the wood work to fish them and poaching is the norm.
Steve Wrye.
 
#6 ·
No need Steve! I know how that goes, unfortunately. I've eaten my share of hatchery harvest trout (clipped fin) and they are some of the best eating of any fish - but have released some over 20" in the Elwha and other peninsula streams that were as memorable as steelhead... even if they didn't kick my butt all over the river


On the other hand we should openly discuss (even promote) the searun brown fishery anywhere in the states because it's artificial. In fact we should get a bunch of guys to go figure them out! Easy to spot, big fish too - especially in southern coastal Maine streams.

Browns are not a favorite topic of mine. As fine of a sport fish as they are, they are exotic and have caused the whirling disease epidemic in the US... or should I say man caused it using them as a carrier.

If I had my druthers, all salters would be indigenous.

.02

Juro
 
#7 ·
I was not aware that sea run browns were introduced out your way. Were these fish just hatchery fish that were put into rivers for opening day and the ones that didn't take the marshmellow adapted to the salt down river? Or was this an intentional move on one of our incredibly dumb fish&game departments. Was not aware of whirling disease in browns but delt with it for years on the Madison R with rainbows. As for browns and the salt try New Zealand. In the early 70's can remember getting them up to 12 lbs in the surf where rivers and the ocean met. My concern is that your sea going browns will eat your wild Alantic Salmon smolts on thier way to the sea and you don't have enough of them for that. We will gladly give you all our farmed raised Alantics to feed to the Stripers, blues and browns.
 
#8 ·
Yeah, ship those farm raised atlantic salmon out here - I'm not a bait guy but I'll chunk them for blues. They've done a good job making them taste good lately but if they escape from their nets in the PACIFIC they need to be dealt with - or more like the farm owners need to be dealt with harshly.

History:

All browns were imported from Europe. They were brought over because people thought the native brookies were too easy to catch. Browns are immune carriers of WD, thus they are not affected in the rivers they infect. I often wondered why the brown is the only trout native to Europe... scary thought.

A few years ago, the first WD evidence was found in a native steelhead river. Rainbows, which steelhead are, are very susceptible to WD. If wild steelhead, native cutthroat, bull trout, etc - start perishing due to a disease we brought to the country for sport reasons, that's genocide in my book. All for a sportsman's preference for a persnickety trout.

Sad that we might cause the ruin of our own native species. No number of surviving browns could replace the indigenous trout of our own streams.
 
#9 ·
You guys are killing me with this trout talk. But alas I've been ruined by the tractor pull of the striper. I would like to one day see our striper Clave crew break out the 5 wts. (remember your 5 wts?) and do a trout Clave. It would be so different. Would the Estes Bros. menu be different in Trout camp? Would there be the classic laughs? Would a 6" native brookster excite you? Food for thought. How about a Landlock Salmon Clave on the W. Branch? Camps in Maine are cheap in May.

Terry
 
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